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December 13, 2017

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District of Columbia Court Records

Note: This page covers information specific to the District of Columbia. For general information concerning access to and use of court
records see the Access to Courts and Court Records section of this guide.

You have a right to inspect and copy most records and documents
filed in D.C. courts. However, your right of access is not absolute,
and a court may seal records under certain circumstances. If you are
interested in obtaining court records, you should go to the courthouse
where the case is taking place and request the records in writing from
the clerk of the court (there will usually be a request form). See the information page on District of Columbia Courts
website for locations, phone numbers, websites, and other information
about courts operating in the District. Alternatively, you may be able
to access court records online. For more information,
please consult the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press's state-by-state guide to access to court records and proceedings.

As a general matter, you may access docket information, the
pleadings and motions of the parties to a lawsuit, decisions and orders
of the court, evidence introduced in court by either side, and
transcripts of hearings. On the other hand, you generally cannot access
juvenile court records. In addition, you do not have a right to access
documents and materials exchanged between parties to a civil lawsuit in
pretrial discovery but never filed with the court or introduced into
evidence. Moreover, the court has discretion to seal records that
contain trade secrets, national security information, and information
the disclosure of which would invade someone's privacy or promote libel
or scandal. Beyond that, the court may seal documents when doing so is
necessary to ensure a defendant's right to a fair trial, to obtain the
cooperation of witnesses and other sources of information, and to
protect parties or witnesses who have acted in reliance on
confidentiality. In each case, the court must determine that the
specific interests favoring secrecy outweigh the public interest in
access.

A court must issue an order to seal documents. If you are
denied access to court records, ask the clerk for the order sealing the
documents. If such an order exists, you may consider moving to
intervene in the case to challenge the court's decision. If you wish to
challenge an order sealing court records, you should get legal assistance to determine how best to proceed.

We are looking for contributing authors with expertise in media law, intellectual property, First Amendment, and other related fields to join us as guest bloggers. If you are interested, please contact us for more details.

Disclaimer

Information in this guide is based on general principles of law and is intended for information purposes only; we make no claim as to the comprehensiveness or accuracy of the information. It is not offered for the purpose of providing individualized legal advice. Use of this guide does not create an attorney-client or any other relationship between the user and the Digital Media Law Project or the Berkman Center for Internet & Society.

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